Global needle coke capacity reached about 1,600kt in 2017, largely contributed by the eight giants like Phillips66, C-Chem and Seadrift. Phillips66 is the largest producer of needle coke around the globe with its capacity seizing over 20% of the global total.

Few Chinese companies can independently produce high-quality needle coke because of high technical barriers. Fangda Carbon New Material made its presence in global high-end market via acquisition of C-Chem's Jiangsu plant in early 2017. The factory, with the capacity of 60kt/a, is chiefly for in-house production of graphite electrode.

Prices of needle coke soared in 2017, exceeding RMB40,000/t in August, more than ten times the level at the beginning of the year, thus driving up prices across industry chain (like graphite electrode). Meanwhile, prices of imported needle coke climbed as well, largely due to a surge in downstream demand.

Needle coke is mainly used in graphite electrode and lithium-battery anode materials. The demand for graphite electrode for steelmaking grew slowly because of a downturn in the steel industry between 2012 and 2016. However, as the Chinese government made great efforts to cut excessive overcapacity and get rid of substandard steel products and the demand for electric-arc furnace rose significantly, the demand for graphite electrode remained high in 2017, boosting the demand for needle coke. At the same time, rapid growth of new energy vehicles increases consumption of needle coke in lithium battery anode material. The demand was about 80kt in 2017 and is predicted to surpass 250kt in 2021.

An upsurge in needle coke prices fuels expansion and building by Chinese needle coke enterprises. Eight needle coke firms, including Jinzhou Chemical, Shandong Jingyang Technology, Qitaihe Baotailong Coal & Coal Chemicals, Shanxi Hongte Coal Chemical, Shandong Yida New Material and Fangda C-Chem announced plans for re-starting, expanding and operation in the second half of 2017. It is calculated that China boasted needle coke capacity of 550kt in 2017 with 200kt newly added. As new and expansion projects go into production, the country's needle coke capacity is expected to total around 900kt by 2021.

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